Mesmerized
by KimuraMinami
Summary: When the Mugiwara crew disembarked at a new Island, Nami and Brook took off for a whole day. After both returned safe and sound, Nami's behavior experienced some peculiar changes, especially towards a certain someone. So this is a rare Brook X Nami story…who am I kidding? This is ZoNa. Zoro X Nami.
1. Prologue: The Disappeared Navigator

**Disclaimer: Sometimes I get the feeling that maybe I own a little bit of One Piece, or at least its characters, e.g. a certain green haired swordsman...well sometimes I do like to talk crazy. So never mind. XP**

**Time Setting: Post-Thriller Bark, after Brook was enlisted in the crew. **

**A special thanks to fmdevil san, who was being such a sweetheart (There, I said it! Now I officially sweethearted everyone I know on this site.;p) and reminded me of the time-setting thing. I really miss the sweet old time when Nami had cute boyish haircut and Zoro had two functional eyes. So Post-Thriller Bark it is! (I know, irresponsible author is being irresponsible.- v -)**

**Couple: Zoro X Nami**

**Read on~!**

Prologue: The Disappeared Navigator

"I don't know where she is."

The moment the words left Zoro's lips, Sanji's shoe sole came crashing towards his face.

"What do you mean _you don't know where she is_? You were with her YOU MORON!" the enraged cook snarled, after whose attack had been blocked halfway by his green haired friend's sheathed sword. "I seriously don't know what I was thinking letting _you_ accompany my precious Nami san ashore _you useless piece of crap_!"

"You didn't_ le_t me, shit cook. _She_ picked me." Zoro sniffed as he blocked with ease another attack launched by the angry cook.

"And then you abandoned her." Surprisingly it was Robin's voice that cut in.

The mature woman's statement made Zoro realize that he was in a rather adverse situation. Everyone onboard was gathered in the galley by now. Even without looking around he could feel his nakamas staring at him with disapproval in their eyes. They were judging him; as if he was this heartless jerk who had ditched his nakama at the danger-ridden port and had gone back to the ship alone and still felt okay about it—the swordsman realized in horror and took a step back. Snapping a sweaty palm on the forehead, he argued: "Look, I didn't abandon her, okay? We had an argument so I walked away a little to cool myself off. And then —"

"You got lost, didn't you?" Franky piped up.

"Shut up, cyborg." the swordsman's face reddened slightly in embarrassment. "If anything she's the one who ran off with that perverted skeleton!"

"What if she's got kidnapped?" Ussop mused. Under the dim light of kitchen's kerosene lamp his paled face looked quite the contrary of "brave warrior of the sea".

"Oh no~~~! We won't be able to pay the ransom because Nami has locked up all the money we have! Now she's gonna die~~~~!" Chopper cried out, his eyes teary, both of his front hooves holding his cheeks in a horrified manner.

"Breathe, Chopper." Sanji ordered. The reindeer's wild imagination surely wasn't helping. He looked over his shoulder to where Monkey. D. Luffy sat cross-legged: "What d'ya say, Captain?"

"I say—"the straw-hat boy grinned broadly. "I'm hungry. When's dinner?"

"Who asked you _that_ you rubber idiot!" This time Sanji's shoe sole stomped forcefully into Luffy's face. "Aren't you worried about Nami san?"

The rubber boy bounced back in one second and grinned wider: "Nah. She should be okay. Brook's with her."

"He has a point." Zoro said, earning himself another dirty look from the ship's cook.

"Shut up marimo, you don't have a say in this. _You_ are the one who put Nami san's chastity in jeopardy!"

"Excuse me?"His hand clenched around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji. He really hoped Sanji knew how close he was to draw out his sword and to poke a hole into the cook's skinny chest.

"Oh my poor Nami san…being stuck with that perverted skeleton…I can hardly imagine what a suffering it is!" Comical tears welled up in Sanji's visible eye as he took out a handkerchief (out of nowhere) and chewed it between his teeth.

"Yeah, cuz it's _so_ different than being stuck with you." Zoro snorted.

The sarcasm made Sanji spit out his handkerchief and yell:" Are you trying to start something marimo?"

"Bring it cook—"

"Hey, hey, guys," Franky's bulky arms tore the two men apart before a serious scuffle could take place. "We don't need more drama than we already have, alright? Two of our nakamas went missing and you are still up for _this_? Grow up!"

"It's okay, Franky san. I'm sure both Cook san and Swordsman san were just worried about Nami san's safety. "Robin commented with a soothing smile.

_Great, dark woman thinks she can read minds now._ Letting out a low grunt, Zoro sank down in his chair, sulking with arms folded. No he didn't feel guilty. It wasn't his fault. Nor was he worried about that crazy witch's safety. Brook was more than capable of protecting her, maybe on the condition of a harmless request involving some panties-watching but still, he was certain Nami could handle it.

"No~! That crap skeleton isn't worthy of protecting my precious Nami swan~~!" Sanji was still whining. "He'd ask to see her panties!"

Zoro rolled his eyes. Well at least _somebody_ could read mind.

Ignoring the sickeningly worried cook, he turned to his captain:" Uh…sorry?" If anyone here deserved an apology it was no other than Luffy. After all he did sort of "lose" _his_ navigator.

"No problem~" The rubber boy grinned at his first mate in a carefree manner. "We just wait for Nami and Brook to return."

Zoro nodded. See? Nobody was really worried. That woman couldn't possibly run into any danger with Brook by her side…right?

For some inexplicable reason, his gut clenched at the assumption.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well...what'd ya think? ( I know it's a little too early to ask, since I've only typed like 800 words. But still, how about some feedbacks, fellas?)**

**As I confessed in my profile, the idea is actually from my old OC story. And truth to be told, I abandoned that story halfway when the OC girl started to annoy me.(Yes, it happens. An author hates her own characters.)**

**Hopefully I won't abandon this one. Last time I checked, I still adore Zoro and Nami. AND BROOK. So anyone wants some Brook X Nami moments? I shall comply.**

**Minami**


	2. Chapter 1: Caught In the Heatwave

Chapter #1: Caught In the Heatwave

Sometimes Zoro really couldn't stand Nami.

By _really couldn't stand _he meant there were several times he actually had to suppress the urge of strangling her to death when she was being particularly annoying and unreasonable. And unfortunately for him, today was one of those days that she truly tested his tolerance.

The Thousand Sunny had docked at a new island a while ago. According to Chopper's whining and Nami's wardrobe choice, he could tell it was a summer island's summer. Not exactly his favorite season, but as long as he got to stay on the ship training-slash-napping, it didn't sound too bad.

The Mugiwara crew's young swordsman smirked at the short straw in his hand. Why not? He thought to himself. It's too damn hot to go out for a walk anyway.

"Poor Zoro…stuck in the ship~~" Luffy made a face as he tried to stuff the ridiculously large lunch box Sanji had prepared for him into the back pocket of his beach pants. Nami hit him hard on the head:" Quit tearing your new pants, stupid!"

"Adventure Bento* for Luffy! Yay!" ignoring the girl's scolding (as well as her physical abuse), the energetic young captain miraculously managed to pack the lunch box into his pocket before he exclaimed in excitement:" Let's go, Usopp! Chopper!"

"I wish I could trade with you, Zoro…" Chopper whined for like the 27th time today. "It's so hot out there~!"

Zoro kinda felt bad for the poor kid. Anyone with that layer of fur deserved a salute for not passing out under this heat wave. For a second there he almost gave in to that cute pout on the reindeer's face. However, being clear-headed as he always was, he refused to risk people finding out that he actually had a soft spot for their resident doctor.

"You are the one who told me to stay inside and rest as much as possible, doc." He remarked casually, the usual stony look on his face.

Chopper hummed in disappointment and pouted for another minute. Usopp—being shirtless at the moment—quickly fetched a pen and a little notebook from his bib pants' pocket and asked: "So, is there anything you want me to get for you Zoro?"

Before the swordsman could tell his friend "sake", a hand snatched the notebook from Usopp's grasp in a swift motion.

"Zoro is going." Nami said in a decisive manner, tucking the notebook down into her v-neck. "Usopp, trade your straw with Zoro." She ordered.

"WHAT?" both boys cried out. Zoro's jaw clenched in annoyance. Great, bitch just had to mess with him today, like it wasn't hot enough outside.

"Well, I'm going shopping. I need Mr. Scary-face and Mr. Muscle-head to help me with it." Nami explained with a saccharine smile on her face.

"And Mr. Scary-face would be me—just in case anyone is wondering, yoho." Brook stepped up from the background and bowed towards Nami. "It will be my utmost privilege to escort you, Nami san."

Zoro rolled his eyes, deeply irritated and yet somehow oddly relieved. Applause to Brook's timely clarification. For a minute there he actually thought he was both. He turned his not-so-scary face to Nami:" Who made you the boss here, witch? I'm not going anywhere with you! I got the short straw. I STAY."

"That's why I said—TRADE." Nami repeated in an unnecessarily slow tone.

" C'mon Usopp, don't make me start charging you for wasting my time." In the next moment she turned her head to the long-nosed boy, as if Zoro's opinion didn't even matter.

"Oi! Don't go decide things on your own—"

"Both Usopp and I have agreed. Congratulations, Mr. Muscle-head~you just got one-upped." Nami whistled merrily.

"No he didn't! You just put words in his mouth!"

"Actually, I uh—"The long-nosed sharpshooter tried to speak up, but gulped back his speech when one of Nami's arms wrapped lovingly around his shoulder.

"We are best buddies, right Usopp?"

"Quit manipulating him!"

"I'm not manipulating anyone."

"Say something, long-nose!"

"Yeah, Usopp, tell him~"

Usopp's eyes ping-ponged back and forth between his two scary crewmates. He scratched the back of his mophead, contemplating which one was the lessor of two evils here.

It was Nami's voice that broke the tie.

"Well I guess _someone_ won't be getting his new repair kit." the orange-haired girl sighed in a melodramatic way. Usopp immediately thrust his straw into Zoro's hand. "I'm sorry, dude." He ran off to hide behind Robin's back, knowing that at this point, Zoro would probably hit anyone but the girls.

"I will kill you in your sleep tonight." After sending death threat to his long-nosed roommate, the irate swordsman turned to Nami again:" That doesn't count. I'm NOT going. "Pointing a finger in Sanji's direction, he was still determined to talk himself out of this shit:" Take the cook with you. He'd be happy!"

"Too bad. Sanji kun has agreed to join Robin and Franky in mountain-hiking." Nami informed him offhandedly.

"Sorry Swordsman san. There is this fascinating shrine I've always wanted to pay a visit to in the mountains." Robin smiled an apologetic smile while Sanji shot him a very unfriendly glare. "Just be grateful that my sweet Nami swan is generous enough to offer to take your unworthy being with her, you lucky bastard."

"How about this then, ero-cook? We trade. You can be the _lucky bastard_ while I go hiking with Franky and Robin." Zoro blurted out without thinking. It's not that checking out some old temple sounded more appealing than going shopping with a spoiled woman. The point was he couldn't let Nami have this kind of power over him. She'd get used to it too soon and he'd be living in hell hereafter.

"YES! Nami swan~ let me be your escort of loooove~! That seaweed head doesn't know how to treat a lady!" pink hearts kept gushing out from Sanji's visible eye as he swirled around Nami like a mad man. However, his look miraculously turned into one of sappy sadness as he twirled himself towards the other female in the crew. "But…but Robin chwan…It tears my heart apart that I won't be able to accompany you…"

"That's all right, Cook san. I'm sure Swordsman san will make an equally excellent hiker as you are." Robin smiled turning to Nami's direction. "Would you mind if I borrow Zoro for a couple of hours, Navigator san?" she asked politely, a teasing twinkle in her eyes.

For a split second there Zoro thought he saw a slight hint of sadness flashed across Nami's eyes. But it had disappeared before he had time to take another look to make sure. Maybe he was just imagining things.

"Fine! Go hiking. Get lost in the mountains. I dun care. "The orange-haired girl conceded, throwing her arms in the air and instantly looking away from him. When her eyes met Sanji's, her lips quickly curled up to a forced grin. "Sanji kun, I guess I'll go with you and Brook then."

"My pleasure Nami san~!" two men yelled in unison. Sanji was sending off hearts from every possible part of his body while Brook managed to pull out a blissful look on his none-skin face.

It was then that Zoro realized this wasn't right. Did he or did he not just leave Nami to the mercy of the infamous pervert duo of the crew? Sure she could easily beat both of them senseless with one single punch, but still, it didn't feel right. He couldn't explain why— it just didn't.

"Wait—"his mouth opened with words pouring out like it had its own will. "On second thought, I don't think it's a good idea that we trade, cook. Let's just keep one pervert at a team, alright?"

"What about me?" Franky waved his large hand in front of Zoro's face," Hello? I'm a pervert!"

"You are a saint compared to those two." Zoro told him, never sparing a glance at the pervert duo who was loudly swearing (Sanji) / kneeling with a dark cloud overhead (Brook).

"Come on, woman. Let's get this over with." He gestured toward the door without looking at Nami, trying to sound as unwilling and bored as he could.

Nami stared at him for a moment longer than what made him comfortable. Then she raised one eyebrow skeptically. "So you are going. With me." She sounded like she didn't believe that he would give in so easily.

"Yea, I'm going. You got what you want, happy?"

She didn't answer. She just kept staring at him with those big round hazel eyes. As if to add to his discomfort, she even pursed her lips a little—if that was her happy face he seriously thought people should redefine "happy".

"What?" he asked, irritated by her reaction to his VERY GENEROUS concession.

"Well, let's hope it's a decision I won't regret making." After a while she said with a shrug, and hooked a finger on Brook's cane-slash-sword. "Let's go, Scary-face!"

* * *

**Author's Note: As you can tell, this chappie is a flashback****—actually, half of it. ****I had wanted to write more, at least to the point that Zoro ditched Nami after their squabble****, b****ut…****. W****ell ya know me. Still suffering from the same old ****I-can't-write-over-2000-words-or-I-will-die disease.**

**So...this is what I've got for this week. I plan on updating this thing weekly. (Yeah, like anyone cares) And I will stop making lousy jokes about pairing Nami with Brook cause some of you guys actually bought it.:P**

**Note for Japanese: Bento is lunch box. **

**Ummm...R&R, please?**

**Minami**


	3. Chapter 2:The Unwelcome Gift

Chapter #2: The Unwelcome Gift

So she thought _she_'d be the one who'd regret this.

Zoro yawned for like the 100th time as he looked around his surroundings through bleary eyes and thought this day couldn't get any more boring. This had been the 13th boutique shop Nami had trampled into (dragging him and Brook along of course). And that girl had just walked into the dressing room with another enormous pile of clothing she'd like to try on. If things ran smoothly it would probably take her less than an hour—just the thought itself gave Zoro a splitting headache, not to mention that his feet were currently buried in eight large, overly-stuffed shopping bags. And according to her own words, she wasn't even "halfway done" with her shopping spree yet.

Huffing in exasperation, the young swordsman lifted his head and shouted at the door of the dressing room:" Can we go now?"

The next instant the door was kicked open. A pouting Nami stomped out with two pairs of hot pants hanging in the crook of her arm. "Geez. I thought Luffy has the shortest attention span in our crew." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"You've been doing this for the last 4 hours!" He spat. "They are just clothes! To cover up your body! "—and apparently she didn't do a good job of it."Just pick something so we can leave, will ya?"

"Actually, this is the difficult part," Nami wagged a finger at the irritated man. "I can't decide which one to go with." She held out the two pairs of hot pants up for him to get a better look.

"Just. Decide." Zoro breathed out through tightly gritted teeth. Seriously, how hard could it be to make a decision regarding _pants_? As long as they hung on his waist he'd be happy!

"I can't. That's why you are here. " Nami said matter-of-factly. She was either oblivious to the swordsman's boiling anger or she was just messing with him for fun. "This pair has acid washes on the back. Do you think it will make my butt look fat? And this—"She waved the other article in front of his eyes. "I'm not sure I like the tassels on it. They look a little…tacky. I dunno…What do you think, Zoro? I need your honest opinion. "

Zoro blinked. His only "opinion" was that he just found out he could sleep with his eyes open. Truth to be told, what she'd just said—made no frigging sense to him!

"Yeah yeah, you look fat in that pair."He said with a yawn, eager to dismiss the matter with minimum effort on his part because it REALLY didn't matter to him anyhow. "Pick the other one."

"You didn't even look at them! And how dare you call me _fat_!"

With that her angry fist whacked on the top of his head and the next thing he knew, he was lying on his stomach on the floor, a huge bump rising from his green head. He muttered some profanity under his breath as he picked himself up.

"You want my honest opinion woman?"He yelled at her face , rubbing his head in pain." Here it comes: you should've asked that ero-cook to come with you INSTEAD OF ME! Cause I don't give a damn about what you wear!"

"No I shouldn't." Nami shook her head and gave him a look that basically carried the meaning of "you are so stupid". "Sanji kun would just compliment me all the same _regardless of_ what I wear. He's even _more_ useless than you are on this matter."

Zoro let out an exasperated sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, the girl had a point. That idiot cook basically thought Nami was a goddess and she looked great in _everything_. He looked around in a desperate attempt to find his comrade who should be at his side right now joining his slow painful death, but his eyes only spotted a gleefully beaming Brook wandering in the lingerie section of the store. _Great, just great._ Zoro sighed again.

"Why did you bring _him_?" he asked Nami, genuinely puzzled. He had known this girl long enough to know that she wasn't the biggest fan of scary-looking people, or skeleton in Brook's case.

"I'll show you." Nami winked at him, a mischievous smile on her lips. The she looked around the entire store, spotting a young female customer standing by the counter with a plum-colored chiffon blouse in her hands.

"What do you think of that one, Zoro?" She asked pointing at the customer.

"What about her?"

"Not the woman, the shirt Zoro, the shirt."

"Uh…not bad. Might even look good on you." Zoro said after a short moment of self-battling. After all, he didn't wanna be whacked again.

"BROOK!" Nami yelled at the top of her lung. "Do your job!"

The skeleton musician stirred and rushed out of the lingerie section in a second. He went straight to the counter. "Excuse me, Young Miss. I'm aware this may come a little unexpected and rude, but may I see your panties?" he smiled at the woman, finishing his request with an elegant curtsy.

"Kyaaaaaa! PERVERT!" the woman screamed. "A-a ghost!" She blinked and screamed again. "A pervert ghost~~!" She ran off screaming, so terrified that she dropped the blouse she'd just picked on the floor.

Brook bent down to pick up the piece of forgotten clothing and slowly walked toward his two young nakamas. Zoro watched his movement with a slightly hung-open jaw: did he just scare the shit out of a woman to get Nami a _shirt_?

"There you go, Nami san." Brook placed the blouse onto Nami's palm, and was rewarded with a sweet smile from the orange-haired girl.

"Thanks, Brook~ Now if you excuse me, I'd like to try it on."

"You are most welcome, Nami san. I was wondering though, since I did provide help, is there any chance that I may take a look at your-"

"That's not our deal!"

Zoro hissed as Brook's skeletal figure flied across the room and created a Brook-shaped hole on the wall. Man, he bet that hurt.

He sighed deeply and shook his head at the fierce woman who had just sent Brook outside the store flying with a single kick. "You are a horrible person, you know that?" He told her.

Nami's response was to stick her tongue at him.

Zoro snorted and quickly looked away. YES, she's a horrible HORRIBLE person and NO, she did NOT look cute when she made that face.

0~0~0~0~0

One hour and 37 minutes later, Nami finally decided she had obtained most of the items on her shopping list and the three pirates exited the boutique. Zoro never believed in gods, but he inwardly thanked all the divinities he could name for this.

However, his relief was so short-lived that it almost saddened him. As the three of them walked along the main street of the island's shopping zone, Nami suddenly flashed him a dazzling smile.

"What?" he'd be lying if he said he didn't panic at all.

"Nothing. "She replied with a shrug, still smiling so sweetly at him that it made him uncomfortable. "Just wanna thank you for accompanying me—and for carrying my bags. Honestly, before today I never thought you can stay awake and behave for such a long time."

"…" Zoro went speechless for a moment. For one, she just insulted him even though she meant to thank him. For two, every time this woman tried to be nice to him, something bad happened.

And he kinda got the feeling that this time would be no exception.

"Actually—"Nami began, her hand reaching for one of the shopping bags he was carrying. "I bought you a gift."

"…EH?" He must be having hearing problems. She bought him _a gift_? With—with actual _money_?

"Yohohoho, that's such a sweet gesture, Nami san. Do I get one too?"

"Yea, maybe next time~" The orange-haired girl said shortly waving the poor skeleton off. She then pulled out the item from a pink shopping bag, which had a crown pattern on the front. "Ta-dah!"

Zoro stared.

Then he blinked.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's a hat, Zoro san." Brook was trying desperately to chip in the conversation. "It's a light blue knitted sleeping hat."

Sure it was. And like the bag once contained it, it had a clown pattern on the front. Zoro could feel the corner of his left eye twitch, a vein threatening to pop on his forehead.

"Why?" He glared at Nami. This better be some kind of joke that he didn't get.

"Well, do you remember the time you told me about Chopper climbing onto your head at night and messing with your hair? I just thought you might need a sleeping hat."

Yes he remembered that. He once complained to the crew that every time that stupid reindeer had a nightmare, he would sneak into his bunk in the middle of the night, cling to his head and start pulling his hair off. But it never occurred to him that Nami actually paid attention when other people were talking.

Zoro didn't know how he was supposed to feel right now. Should he be grateful? Or irritated? The hat looked ridiculous. Even looking at it made his eyes wanna start bleeding. There was no way in hell he would put that thing on his head.

But again, this might be the one and only time that stingy woman was willing to actually spend _her_ money on him. The young swordsman was at a loss for words until Brook decided to chip in again—

"Ano…" the skeleton raised one hand timidly." Maybe it's just me…but that hat does look familiar. I think I've seen something like that before—and by _before_ I mean 5 minutes ago."

"Shut up, Brook. You are ruining the moment." Nami scolded him and continued with an exasperated sigh. "Al right! So what if I picked it up from that store's maternity section! They do sell hats for babies with grotesquely large head! And they are like 50% cheaper than hats for adults!" When she received a death stare from the green haired swordsman she quickly came up with another excuse. "—at least I didn't buy it in pink!"

_Okay that's it. Enough is enough. "_I don't want it." Zoro cut her off in a determined voice.

"But it's a gift." Nami argued. "It's not like I'm gonna charge you for it!"

"I HATE IT. You can't force people to accept gifts they hate. That's rude. "

"Wha—"Nami inhaled sharply."_ You_ are the one who's rude!"In an instant she lunged at him, pulling the baby hat down on his green head with a single forceful movement. If it were some other time Zoro could have easily dodged this, but not now—when he was carrying 10 heavy shopping bags—_her_ shopping bags, 5 in each hand.

"Take it off, stupid witch." Zoro demanded in a low, dangerous voice, his teeth grinding together in irritation. He could feel the local people on the street staring at him. Several girls chuckled behind their hands and exchanged comments on how funny/dumb/absurd he looked wearing a knitted hat on such a hot day.

"Uh-oh." Brook stared blankly as his two young nakamas standing in the middle of a busy street glared at each other with so much venomousness in their eyes. His gut feeling told him things were going to get ugly, except that he didn't have a gut anymore.

"You are welcome, Zoro." Nami's tone was defiant.

"Take. It. Off."

"Why should I? It suits you." She even managed to give him a smirk.

"How about this, Zoro san? Let me just uh…help you with that—"sensing the killing aura from the younger swordsman, Brook wisely held out a long skeletal arm and reached for the hat on Zoro's head. But before his fingers could make contact with the article, several things happened in rapid succession.

1) Zoro released his hold of Nami's shopping bags. They scattered on the ground with a loud bang, stirring up some serious dirt. He then pulled the hat off from his head and threw it onto the messy pile.

2) Nami shrieked and jumped up to punch Zoro in the face, making the man groan in pain.

3) After calling Nami several names that Brook thought should never be used upon ladies, Zoro spun on his heels and marched away in a huff.

It was not until the back of Zoro's green head disappeared from sight that Brook realized he had just witnessed by far the most heated fight between his two young feisty nakamas.

After a short moment of awkward silence.

"Maybe Zoro san went to the washroom." Brook mused in his usual slow, smooth tone.

Nami shot him a venomous glare. The musician could see her eyes were suspiciously red, but as a classic gentleman who had been living up to people's expectation for 88 years, he decided not to bring this up to upset her further.

"I personally think it's a nice gift, Nami san." Trying to appease the young girl, Brook bent down to pick up the hat and placed it on his skull. He sighed after a second. "Nope. Still too small for my afro."

* * *

**Author's Note: There you go. I think I just finished the flashback part. At least it was entertaining I hope? - V -**

**So the real plot picks up from here. As I told fmdevil san the other day, I'll be busy looking up terms and grammars cuz to me, the difficult part just begins. :(**

**So some nice reviews to walk me through? :3**

**To Lotus Flower san: What d'ya think of the Nami X Brook moments in this chap? :P**

**Minami**


	4. Chapter 3: Pretty Strangers

Chapter #3: Pretty Strangers

"Brook~~! Dammit Brook, where are you?"

Her voice was barely audible amongst various noises from the busy street. Nami let out a small sigh of aggravation as her eyes busily skimmed through every stranger passing by. Her creepy skeleton friend was nowhere to be found. She probably lost him by the 13th time she complained to him what a senseless jerk Zoro was for rejecting her "nice" present and for dropping all her bags. As it turned out, even skeleton's eardrums (let's assume he has them) _could _explode under the constant attack of whining.

_Perfect._ Now the new guy had the nerve to ditch her? Weren't there some rules against it? Slapping a hand onto her forehead, Nami thought indignantly to herself.

But this wasn't her biggest problem at hand. What truly bothered her was: when Zoro stomped off without the decency to even say Goodbye, Brook had generously offered to carry her shopping bags. And now that he was gone, the bags were gone—including the one which contained her newly purchased underwear.

"Shoot." A light curse escaped her lips as she tried to calculate mentally how much money she'd spent on those underwear. They were pretty expensive. And if Brook ever laid one skeletal finger on them , that'd leave her no choice but to scissor them into tiny pieces before tossing them into the ocean.

_Of course this goes straight to Zoro's debt._ She thought and hummed. This was his fault to begin with—okay maybe not "completely" his fault, but still she could make him pay if she wanted to.

For some reason she had always thought she kinda owned Zoro. She could beat him into doing anything for her and he always ALWAYS succumbed to her wishes in the end regardless of how much he hated them.

She liked that she usually had the upper hand in most of their fights. Deep down she knew Zoro wouldn't listen to her unless he actually wanted to, which was why she felt so rejected today when he walked away from her looking like he was finally fed up with her stubborn unreasonableness and had officially given up on her.

"It's not like I did something terrible to him…" she murmured quietly to herself, trying to ignore the guilt that was slowing forming inside her chest. No she had done nothing wrong. Ask Brook, he would agree with her. It was not her fault that stupid swordsman thought nothing was good enough for his thick green skull…

"Hey you!" a feminine voice called interrupting her thought. "Orange head!"

Nami stood and turned around. That wasn't a very nice nickname. And she happened to be in a sour mood now.

"Excuse me?" She glared at the stranger who had called out to her. The girl was about the same height as her, probably of her own age, and looked decently pretty with her blond hair pulled up into a loose ponytail. She was wearing a tank-top which was at least 2 sizes too small for her and a mini skirt whose hem fell mid-thigh.

_Slut._ Nami snorted inwardly and rolled her eyes, momentarily forgetting that she herself was clad in some similar outfit.

"How may I help you?" she asked with a feigned innocent smile.

"Save it Orange. Gimme back my shirt!" The blond girl said hotly.

...so she was one of the female customers Brook had scared off. No wonder she looked sorta familiar.

"I'm sorry but I seem to recall I've paid for every item I purchased." Nami countered, putting both hands on her hips in a defense stance. "So technically it's _my_ shirt now." She didn't even know which piece of clothing the girl was referring to but she hated her already and thus she didn't plan on letting her have her way.

The girl shot her a threatening glare. "Listen here you conniving little thief, you and your skeleton attack dog stole my shirt and I strongly suggest you give it back now or I'll—"

"You'll _what_?" Nami sneered cutting her off, "Keep screaming 'GHOOOOST' until one of us actually get scared?"

The girl scowled, her large emerald eyes flickering in anger. She lifted her arm up; Nami ducked as she squeezed her eyes shut thinking this crazy bitch was going to slap her in the face—

"Natsu, STOP."

Both girls stopped. Nami cautiously peeled open one eyelid and looked up: the blond girl was glaring down at her resentfully while her wrist was caught by a man standing next to her.

"Dad!" she yelled, struggling against the man's confine. " Let go of me!"

_Dad?_ Nami gulped as her eyes took in the tall figure standing in front of her. The man looked no older than 35. He was either really young when he had his daughter or he had been applying some magical face cream over the years.

And she couldn't help but notice how beautiful he was. Nami knew maybe it wasn't the right term to describe a guy, but this was all she could think of when she stared into those emerald-colored orbs of his. With long straight silvery hair cascading down his shoulders like a moonlit waterfall, he even looked kind of surreal. His refined features somewhat resembled those of an ancient Greek Goddess's, which strangely served to make him look even more manly. Maybe not some Zoro kind of rugged handsomeness, but the man was a treat to the eye no-doubtedly—realizing she was comparing this _Dad_ guy with her green-haired nakama, Nami mentally shook off the thought from her head. No she didn't think Zoro was handsome. At all.

"Please allow me to apologize for my daughter's act of impropriety, Miss." The man spoke. Hell, he even had a nice voice. "Anyone would be crazy to even think about hurting a beautiful young lady like you."

"She stole my shirt!" Natsu protested in a high voice, still struggling to break free of the man's grip on her wrist. "You can't let her get away with this Dad!"

"Say no more, Natsu. I'm sure she has a good reason." The man said authoritatively. Nami stuck her tongue out at the blond girl. "Well, it's nice to have someone reasonable to talk to for a change." She waved at the sliver-haired man as she turned to walk away, "Thanks sir. Looks like you have some family issue at hand. So, Ja~ne~!*"

"Please wait. "The man called out stopping her track. Nami looked over her shoulder.

"If you're not in a hurry, Miss, I'd like to invite you over to my house. "The man smiled softly at her. "You should definitely meet my other 3 daughters. They are all well-mannered and pleasant young ladies. And they happen to like cooking as much as I do." He briefly looked up before continuing, "It's almost dinner time. You must be hungry after a long day of shopping and fighting off my daughter for clothes."

Nami peered at the man from the corner of her eyes. So instead of one daughter he had _four_? How old was this guy anyway?

More importantly, did he think she was stupid? Did she really look so dumb that he actually thought she would go home with him _just because he asked_?

"Thanks, but no thanks." She smiled back at him, false sweetness written all over her face. "Actually I'm… expecting my friend." She silently hoped Brook would appear soon. She might have her Clima-Tact with her but it looked like this man and his daughter weren't that easy to deal with.

Sure he looked friendly and sincere, but Nami knew better.

"Oh look who's scared _now_~ "Before her father could say anything to stop her Natsu snorted, giving Nami a bored look. "It's not like I'm going to eat you, Orange."

Nami glared at her. Normally she wouldn't fall for this kind of baiting but there was something unnerving about this girl that she couldn't quite make out of. Her hands twitched , suppressing the urge to reach for the Clima-Tact that was tied tightly onto her thigh.

"Why should I trust you? How do I know you're not some psychopath who would try to rape and then kill me? " She said acidly staring at the silver-haired man with suspicion in her eyes. It's better to let them think she was just some innocent foul-mouthed girl whose only concern was her own safety than to expose the fact that she was actually a pirate. Chances were they already knew, but she would play dumb as long as they didn't blow her cover. Nami took a deep breath before continuing. "After all I am very kawaii~ and I have the body of a Goddess, only prettier~~I wouldn't be surprised if guys wanted to commit crime to this body." Unfortunately whenever she began to sing praises to herself she instantly lost all her composure and level-headedness. She was beaming all comical-style by the time she finished her sentence.

" Geez. Can you be any more delusional?" Natsu rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Get a mirror."

Nami glowered at her."_You_ get a mirror. Do you shop at preteen clothing store? If that shirt gets any tighter it'll cut off your blood circulation!"

"Oh I happen to shop at the same store as you do! I thought you'd remember that cuz that's where you stole my shirt!"

"Look at you two, bonding like sisters." The silver-haired man stepped in between before either girl had the chance to initiate another round of catfight. He looked at Nami intently, a reasurring smile on his lips. "You can trust me, Miss. Like I said, no one would have the heart to hurt such a beautiful young lady as you. Now—shall we?" he held out his hand towards her; his palm upward; his message clear.

Next to him, Natsu was smirking like a siam cat, daring her to accept the challenge.

Nami wanted nothing more than to peel that smirk off her face. She stared at them for a long moment before she released a small sigh and took the man's hand. "I don't even know your name." she said.

"My name is Junya. I own the tea house down the street." The silver-haired man said softly. "Now, would you mind telling me yours or shall I keep calling you Miss?"

"It's Nami. " she told him. Dammit, she had no other choice. She couldn't back down cause that would look suspicious; and she couldn't run away cause they had her outnumbered. If these two people were really psychopaths and she got herself killed because of this, she swore to God she'd come back and haunt Zoro for the rest of his life.

* * *

**Author's Note:** **No Zoro in this chap, sorry. :( **

**I was gonna write something about him but then I got lazy and decided to stop.**

**Feel free to hate my OCs. I'm not too crazy about them either. :P**

**Notes on Japanese:**

**Ja~ne~ is an informal way of saying Goodbye.**

**The OCs' names are also in Japanese. ( What? At lease they are short and easy to memorize~)**

**A big THANKS to all my sweet reviewers and please continue to do so~see ya. :3**

**Minami**


	5. Chapter 4: When the Sun Rises

Chapter #4:When the Sun Rises

Sometimes Zoro thought Sanji needed help.

Like now. It's almost midnight and he was still violently cutting up some ribs on his chopping board, making all sorts of noises interrupting other people's sleep.

_Idiot. _Zoro cursed inwardly. He bet ero-cook was worried sick about his precious Nami swan's safety now. And whatever this stupid cooking therapy was about, it sure didn't help calm him down.

"What the hell are you still doing in my kitchen, Marimo?" the cook suddenly asked.

Zoro gave him a bored look. "What does it look like to you, Swirly? You are cooking; so I'm waiting to be served."

"Haha, good thinking. Except that you don't get to eat until Nami san is back."

Zoro frowned: the cook was particularly annoying when he was being sarcastic. "Why am I being punished just because that woman is too stupid to find her way back home? Maybe she enjoyed Brook's company and decided to spend more time with him, you just don't know."

With a sharp intake of breath, Sanji dropped his knife on the chopping board. "_You_ take that back!" he fumed.

Zoro yawned: as fun as picking at the cook's fragile mental state might be, he was quickly getting bored and sleepy. He stood up and headed for the door. "Squirm all you want. I'm turning in."

But before he could make for the threshold Sanji's voice stopped him.

"How do you do this?"

Zoro looked over his shoulder, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. "How do I do _what_?"

"Acting like you don't give a shit about her at all. Aren't you worried? Huh? She's been out there for a whole day doing god knows what solely because you failed to keep an eye on her! She could be in danger; her life could be at stake—right now when we are having this conversation! And you're telling me that _you don't care_?" Sanji paused and shoved his hand into his pants pocket forcefully. He then fetched a pack of cigarettes, weighing it in his palm for a second before taking one out and lighting it up. "When I first joined this crew I thought you have a thing for her, Marimo." He said, puffing out a mouthful of smoke. "… looks like I'm wrong."

The look on Sanji's face was downright serious—Zoro hated that. It meant shitty cook was expecting a heart-to-heart with him. It meant _for once_ they would have to talk about _feelings_ and god how much he detested that kind of shit.

"I'm not you, ero-cook."He began in a low voice, staring into the cook's visible eye. His stern face betrayed no feelings. "Just because I don't whine doesn't mean I don't care." With that said he quickly turned around and walked straight out of the threshold, closing the door behind him.

"Idiot dartboard-brow." He muttered once he was outside the galley. Idiot cook was being idiotic again. That bastard didn't know a thing. And yet he couldn't keep his frigging mouth shut about the things that he didn't know.

"I heard that!" Sanji yelled from inside the kitchen.

"I said it aloud!"Zoro yelled back.

0~0~0~0~0

"Eh? Brook?! What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Nami san~~" The skeleton greeted lazily, giving her a toothy grin.

Nami rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and stared in disbelief. So there she was, standing on the tiled floor of Junya's tea house, looking at her skeleton friend who was cozily seated on a black leather couch in the far corner, surrounded by two beautiful young girls. The taller girl had shoulder-length dark hair. She was dressed in a pink kimono with cherry blossom patterns on it. While the shorter girl was wearing a light blue kimono which was covered in snow-flake patterns. She too had dark long hair that was tightly pulled up into a bun on the back of her head.

Both girls had a saucer in their hands, on each of which placed a beautiful set of ceramics tea cups. The cups were filled and steaming. Nami instantly turned to Junya who was currently standing next to her. "You got him too?" If she sounded a little paranoid it wasn't her fault. From what she saw, they'd been feeding Brook some very questionable beverages.

Before Junya had time to respond, another voice chipped in: "Oh please! He practically begged to come home with me after I told him my father runs the best tea house on this island."

Nami turned her head to look at the new girl entering the door that connected the kitchen and the living hall. Like her sisters she was carrying a set of tea cups in a saucer as well. She had long wavy hair that resembled the color of autumn's maple leaves and was dressed in an orange colored one-piece.

So four daughters_._ At least Junya didn't lie about that. Nami rolled her eyes in mild annoyance. As much as she hated to admit it, the girl too was probably telling the truth. Fine tea, beautiful girls…to Brook this place must be like Christmas. No wonder he had ditched her on the street.

"You didn't drug him, did you?" She glanced at the red-haired girl warily.

"Not yet. But I _will_ if he just keeps asking me to show him my panties." The girl said straight out.

_That _could also be true. Depsite all the doubts and suspicion in her head, a small smile found place on Nami's lips.

"Ah, where are my manners?" placing a palm on his chest, Junya piped up apologetically. "Let me introduce: this is Aki, my third daughter. The two serving your friend are Haru and Fuyu. They are on duty tonight. And Natsu is in the kitchen preparing your welcome dinner."

"Tea?" Aki offered, holding out a teacup toward Nami.

Nami bit her bottom lip and hesitated. Her eyes looked over Aki's pretty face to settle on Brook, who was slowly sipping his cup of tea with a dreamy look on his non-skin face. "Nami san, you should definitely try this. This is what Heaven must taste like, yoho."

Nami let out a small sigh: It's probably too late to be cautious now. If the tea was indeed poisonous Brook would've been dead by now. But no~he was doing fine. He was being his goofy self and she couldn't blame it on the tea. After several seconds of self-battling, she accepted the gesture of kindness, giving Aki a slight nod of her head as a "thank you."

Aki continued to look at her intently. Under her unwavering look Nami took a small sip from the rim and then released a reassuring smile. "It tastes good."

Just at that Aki's face brightened. "Told you so. Our tea is the best in town."

0~0~0~0~0

It was already past midnight when Zoro found Luffy lying prone on the lion's head of Thousand Sunny humming that weird tune he had made up when they were in Skypiea. If it were any other night the rubber boy should've been in his cabin sound asleep by now, probably dreaming about meat while drooling all over his pillow. Something was off about him tonight.

"Yo, Captain. Mind if I join you up there? " Zoro called looking up. He guessed he could just hop on without asking, but Luffy was always a little bit weird about his "special seat".

The rubber boy sat up, clapping the soles of his sandals together making a crispy sound. "Come on up ~" He grinned and scooted over to make space for his first-mate.

Zoro jumped onto the lion's head and sat beside Luffy. He too crossed his legs like Luffy did.

"What's so special about this seat anyway?" Now that he was on it, it wasn't really that comfortable. "And why didn't you go to sleep?"

"Because I wanna be awake when the sun rises." Luffy said. The goofy grin on his face never faltered a second.

Zoro blinked. Luffy kept grinning at him. Both boys remained silent for a short moment.

Then Zoro brought a hand up on his forehead and sighed:"…This is the part you tell me why you wanna be awake when the sun rises, Luffy."

"Oh okay." The younger boy nodded while stuffing his finger up in his nostril. "When the sun rises, I'm gonna go look for Nami and Brook."

"…" For a second Zoro wasn't sure what to say. "I thought you said you're not worried about them."

"But they are taking too long~~! I'm getting impatient~~!"

Zoro studied Luffy's pouting face for several seconds before letting himself release an inaudible sigh. "…yeah, me too."

Both boys fell back into silence again. Four eyes stared intently into the far end of the ocean where it connected with the dark gray sky.

"Shouldn't we be facing the east if we want to watch the sunrise?" After a while Zoro said.

"Nani? * We're not facing the east?!" Luffy fluttered.

Zoro scratched his chin and looked thoughtful for a moment."No idea."

"Shishishishi, Zoro is so stupid~~can't tell east from west~ shishishi~~"

"_You_ are the one to talk!" Zoro smacked his captain on the head. But the rubber boy kept laughing. A moment later his laughter subsided. He continued to stare into the sea with wide, round eyes.

"Ne, Zoro."

"…"

"We never would have made this far without Nami. We would've got lost in the sea. " Luffy said in his usual childish, yet oddly authoritative tone. " You shouldn't of left her behind like that. There will be no next time-Captain's order, got it?"

"Zzzzzzzz…."

Luffy lowered his eyes, only to see his first-mate lying comfortably by his side, sleeping like a baby.

The rubber boy withdrew his finger from his nose and poked the swordsman in the chest. "Hey wake up. This is not cool. Have some respect for your captain~!" he mumbled. But his only audience was himself."Stupid Zoro…always falling asleep when I'm issuing captain orders...Zzzzzzzz…" with that he leant his head back and fell instantly into a slumber as well.

The night breeze gently brushed past the two sleeping boys. It was a summer's island but the temperature dropped several degrees at night. As if feeling the coldness in the air Luffy and Zoro subconsciously snuggled closer to each other, fully engaged in a snoring competition.

Time ticked by slowly.

Sanji walked out of the male's cabin with barely audible rustling; a light blanket hanging in the crook of his arm.

"Baka." he cursed under his breath, throwing the blanket roughly at Luffy and Zoro's sleeping forms. "Why am I even roommates with these idiots anyway? Urgh I feel like a babysitter ..."a stream of profanity flew out of his mouth as he hopped onto the lion's head and tucked them up nonetheless.

He then leant against the railing and stared into the sea, chewing on the end of his lit cigarette. He didn't bother going back inside. The sun was about to rise.

* * *

**Author's Note: Actually, the scene with Zoro and Sanji in the kitchen should happen AFTER the scene in Junya's teahouse. I just change the sequence so that the layout looks better.**

**I named the OC girls after seasons: Haru(spring), Natsu (summer), Aki(autumn) and Fuyu( winter). I know… I'm not an author of imagination. Don't bother to memorize their names. They are not important until later chapters. :-)**

**Sorry if anyone thinks the story is progressing too slowly. I'll put Brook and Nami back on the ship first thing in my next chap, I PROMISE. **

**So…R&R please? : 3**

**Minami**


	6. Chapter 5: The Bitch is Back

Chapter#5: The Bitch Is Back

Zoro was drifting in the wonderful state of half-asleep and half-awaking when he felt something liquid dripping and moistening the front of his shirt.

His eyes snapped open: "Nami?"

He tried to sit up but the orange-haired girl was hovering upon him with both of her hands grabbing his shoulders firmly, pinning him down on the dewy lawn deck.

She was crying. Beads of tears were rolling down her cheeks and deepening the color of his white shirt. She looked miserable. He didn't remember ever seeing her look so miserable before this moment that the whole situation seemed a little surreal. He stared into her round teary hazel orbs, only to find two sets of his reflections staring back at him dazed and confused.

"Hey…you're back." He began; his voice hoarse because of the fresh awaking.

"No I'm not you idiot! I can't! I'm trapped and this is all your fault! "She accused in a harsh tone, crying harder. Her nails dug into his shoulders with so much force that the action made him hiss in pain. "Why did you leave me there Zoro? Why didn't you stay with me and protect me? Now I'm trapped and I'm so scared…meat…"

_Meat?_

Zoro's eyes snapped open—this time for real. There was no Nami hovering upon him—instead there was a sound-asleep Luffy drooling a river over his shirt while blowing a snot bubble from his nostril. It looked like the rubber boy had somehow shifted position during his sleep and was now using the swordsman's chest as a pillow.

"Meat….lots of meat…" Luffy mumbled and drooled some more, his eyes shut, a content smile spreading on his face.

Zoro blinked several times to let reality sink in. A part of him felt relieved that there was no troublesome crying woman on top of him; yet another part of him was somehow pissed by the fact that even absent, that witch-slash-navigator was still capable of playing tricks with his subconsciousness and making him feel bad about what had happened between them on the street yesterday.

Maybe he had a stronger sense of guilt than he thought after all. The green haired swordsman let out a small sigh before giving Luffy's head a rough push to wake the boy up:" Oi wake up, baka. It's morning already. "They had obviously slept through the sunrise. The sky was already bright and the rosy clouds of dawn were barely seen at the far end of the horizon.

"What? WHAT? They're back?!" Luffy jumped to his feet in the blink of an eye. His head was busily turning every possible direction that his rubbery neck would allow him to and he almost fell over the confined space on the lion's head while doing so.

"Uh…no?" Zoro provided as he hooked a finger on the back of Luffy's red vest to help stabilize the boy.

"No?" Luffy's shoulders drooped in disappointment. "But it's been a whole day, Zoro~ where could they be?"

Now Zoro really felt bad. Clearly the captain was worried about _both_ missing nakamas while all he had been thinking about was just this _one_ orange haired woman. Brook's name hadn't even for one second crossed his mind until now.

"You're right; it's been too long." And Nami would die before willingly spending the night with that creepy skeleton alone." My gut is telling me that they might be in some kind of trouble—"Zoro began in a serious tone but didn't get to finish his speculation.

Usopp's loud scream pierced through the morning peace from up the crow-nest—

"Wake up, minna!* They are back—Nami and Brook are back!"

0~0~0~0~0

Sanji was the first one to rush to the shipside yelling "Nami swaaaan~~~" in a pitch which was too high for Zoro's liking. With arms folded in front of his chest, the green-haired swordsman stood at the back and watched in disdain while the blonde cook swirled in circles like a seasoned ballet dancer, pink hearts shooting from his visible eye.

"Ahhh, my dear sweet Nami swan~ Thank goodness you're back! I've been worried sick about you all night! Please _please_ promise me you'll never leave my side like that again!... "

Duh, the morning barely started and he already felt like throwing up—Zoro rolled his eyes in annoyance at the cook's stupid antics. He had wondered and wondered, but never did he quite understand why Sanji was willing to make a complete fool of himself in front of the girls. Seriously, the man was by far the worst flirt he had ever seen in his life, and that disgusted look on Nami's face said it all—she hated it. And in Zoro's opinion, it was only fair that she did.

While he was busy trashing the cook inwardly, Luffy and the others had already gathered by the railing to greet their returned nakamas.

"Oi~~~~! Nami~~~! Brook~~~!" The captain waved excitedly at them, a huge grin on his face. He then helpfully outstretched both of his rubbery arms to grab Nami and Brook on the waist, pulling them onto the deck not-so-gently causing the two groan in pain when their heads collided with the lawny surface of the deck. Robin smiled at the amusing scene and summoned extra hands to help fetch their shopping bags—from Brook's hands of course.

"Nami! Brook! Are you okay?" Chopper squeaked with concern in his voice.

Oh she was okay—Zoro would give Nami full credit for that at least. There wasn't the slightest wrinkle on her clothes (maybe it was simply because they were too tight, he really didn't know) and her hair looked just as perfect as always. The girl seemed to have some kind of super power to maintain her pretty look no matter how trying the circumstance was. In Sanji's words, she had been out there doing "god knows what" for a whole night and she still looked dazzling in the morning glory—realizing that he had been staring, Zoro rolled his eyes again and looked away.

"I think I might have bumped my head when I landed, Chopper san. See here's a big one—"The skeleton chuckled rubbing the sizable lump on his Afro." Although I don't quite understand why my head is capable of swelling since I have no skins and muscles, all I have is bones, yohohohoho~~~"

While Brook was heartfeltly laughing at his own joke, the orange-haired girl rose to her feet and patted the dust off from her skirt. In the next second, her eyes turned to a certain someone.

"ZORO!" she practically screamed the name out. Sanji was abruptly halted in his tracks to approach and hug her; the saddened look on his face would have made Zoro laugh if it were some other time.

"What, woman?" The swordsman managed to respond in an annoyed tone while suppressing the urge to flinch. Okay he had dropped her bags, which was probably not good for his debt, but there was still chance he could get away with it without things getting violent, right? She wouldn't really hurt him in front of so many people…

"Zoro!" Nami screamed again, this time flinging her petite body at him. Next thing he knew, he was knocked off balance and flat on his back, with her on top of him; both of her hands were around his neck and tightened—so she was going to strangle him…

Or was she?

"I missed you so much, Zoro~~" the girl said sweetly as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Nani*?!" Several jaws hit the lawn deck in unison. The pink heart in Sanji's visible shattered into little pieces and was instantly replaced by a bead of teardrops.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" the cook yelled.

"Look Nami is hugging Zoro! And telling him she missed him! " Usopp whispered to Chopper in a hushed voice—but being the ever easily-panicking Usopp, his whisper was surly loud enough for the whole crew to hear.

"Awww, young love." Brook sighed and commented in an indolent tone, "Back in my days you don't get to see a lot of youngsters showing their affections to one another so openly…I think it's quite nice."

Franky struck his "super" pose while Robin just chuckled quietly behind her hand.

Zoro couldn't move. In fact, he couldn't even bring himself to think about what the heck was going on here. This was crazy—no, no, this was way beyond craziness. Last time he saw Nami she had punched him so hard so heartlessly that it almost convinced him she was the craziest bitch he had ever encountered in his entire life; and now she was suddenly being nice and sweet, embracing him lovingly while telling him _she missed him_?

Okay maybe this was just another weird dream he was having.

Zoro blinked. When nothing happened he blinked again.

However, the vision hadn't vanished. Nami was still here—on top of him, hugging him. She felt so real—so soft and fragrant if he was asked to be more specific; the citrus scent in her hair was so strong that it assaulted all his senses; and the hot breath she was currently breathing into the sensitive skin at his neck was almost too much to bear…

"Nami~~~! I missed you too!" Luffy let out a cheerful squeak and practically jumped on the hugging duo, encircling his arms around Nami's neck just like the way Nami was doing to Zoro. Suddenly Zoro became the base of a human pyramid, and he looked like he was about to die of sheer embarrassment.

The rest of the crew stared in wonderment, speechlessly. The silence was soon broken when Chopper chirped merrily and started racing his chubby legs towards them:" I missed you guys too~~! You are not cuddling without me!"

"Wait, Chopper!" Usopp grabbed the reindeer by the tail pulling him back and eyed the human pyramid in suspicion. "Something is wrong here. Luffy is being his stupid self but Nami is… WEIRD."

"Well it looks like a lot of things happened when Swordsman san and Navigator san were hanging out yesterday." Robin provided, an amused smile on her lips. "Maybe you can brief us, Brook san?" The woman asked politely and got a goofy grin from the skeleton in question—

"Oh I'm not sure I can, Robin san. I'm not really that observant cause as you can tell—I don't have any eyes to observe, yohohoho~~~"

"Oi, Robin!" Zoro finally managed to utter his voice—it was not that easy when a decently attractive woman was hugging you tightly and pressing her ample breasts against your front. But again in Zoro's case, he was embarrassed and desperate and wanted nothing more than Nami off his body _right now_. "You gonna just stand there or you gonna give me a hand?" He barked at the older woman, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"As many hands as you wish, Swordsman san." Robin smiled softly as she applied her Devil Fruit Ability to grow extra hands to detangle Luffy and then Nami from Zoro's lying form.

Once Luffy's feet were on the ground again, he whined. "B—but that was such an emotional moment, Robin~~~"

"I'm sure it was." Robin smiled apologetically at the young rubber boy but didn't release her hold on Nami's shoulders. The orange-haired girl was now struggling violently in Robin's confine, throwing her limbs in every humanly possible way in an attempt to break free.

"Let go of me, Obasan!*" She yelled furiously.

"O—" Usopp's jaw dropped.

"O—oba—" Chopper's jaw dropped.

"Obasan?!" Sanji looked torn right now. One of his beloved lady crewmates had just insulted the other, both of whom he adored equally and wholeheartedly. He _really_ didn't know whose side to be at this moment.

And truth to be told, Zoro was rather taken aback by Nami's unusual outburst too. If there was one person Nami always treated nicely in this crew, it was Robin. And now she was calling her "_Obasan_"? Did she bump her head or something? It was just so unlike her to jump on him, embrace him and _almost _kiss him on the neck…he felt the temperature of his cheeks rising as he brought up a hand to rub the spot on his skin where it had almost made contact with Nami's lips. But other than his quickening heartbeat, the deck was deadly silent.

The corner of Robin's eyes twitched slightly. She still remained calm and cool; there was even this small elegant smile on her lips; but something in her eyes let the crew know that they had every reason to be worried.

"Is she angry?" Luffy whispered. "—just because Nami called her an _Obasan_? What's so bad about _Obasan_?"

"Shiiiiii—! You don't have to repeat that word, _twice_!" Usopp chided.

"Both of you SHUT UP and show some respect for that young lady who is wonderfully embracing her blossom in life!" Sanji was trying desperately to neutralize Nami's inappropriate choice of words. It pained him to see his dear Robin chwan's feelings get hurt.

Franky glared at the orange-haired girl who was still struggling in Robin's hands and shook his head in disproval. "Not super, Nami-sis, not super."

"I don't care about being super, you baka!" the girl yelled angrily back at him. "Let me go! I wanna go to Zoro's side!"

"Well, Navigator san—"Robin finally spoke up; the crew released a breath they didn't know they had been holding. "I think you're just too exhausted from all the adventures you and Brook san have experienced since yesterday. Let's get you some sleep."

"You don't get to tell me what to do, Oba—"a hand grew out of Nami's shoulder to cover her mouth, preventing more undesirable words from coming out. Then a row of such hands appeared on the lawn deck. One by one they rolled Nami's struggling body forward, tossing her into the girl's cabin and closing the door once she was inside.

"I think that'll be it, gentlemen." Robin smiled and gracefully turned around to walk away from the stunned boys.

"Phew—"After the woman left, Franky raised his large hand over his head and whistled. "For a minute there I really thought Nico Robin was mad."

"She wasn't?" Chopper asked with wide eyes.

"Was she?" Luffy was genuinely puzzled.

"I think she was." Usopp scratched his chin thoughtfully and concluded, "Just keep this in mind, Luffy, Chopper. Girls do not like it when you call them old—"

"Shut up, shithead! Robin chwan is NOT old!"

"And Sanji doesn't like it when you call a girl old—"

"I'm old. I've wrapped my head around it, yoho."

Zoro shook his head and sighed deeply. This crew already had too many crazy idiots—he just couldn't afford Nami joining in the club. Now he was not only confused but also kinda worried; He wondered what had happened to that woman to make her act so…out of normal.

His hand rose to feel the spot on his neck and he swore inwardly: Damn, she'd better not leave a mark there.

* * *

**Author's Note: Ummm...sorry about the late update? ****At least this chap is longer. And I finally got to the part that wasn't covered in my summary. So the real plot starts from now on. What happened to Nami? I suppose some of you are smart enough to have figured that out.( Not that those who haven't figured out are not smart...you guys are all smart cause you read my story! Wise choice buddies :P)**

**Japanese Note:**

**Minna=everybody**

**Nani= what (I should have given explanation to this in my last chapter)**

**Obasan= aunt**

**So instead of updating this thing weekly, I'm afraid I'll have to tune it down into a bi-weekly update cuz you know, work has been crazy. Even this chap was written in a rush, so feel free to point out any grammatical and spelling mistakes. :3**

**Last but not least, let's do this quick: R&R, my dear readers~~!**

**Minami**


	7. Chapter 6: Something In the Tea

Chapter#6: Something In the Tea

" What. Happened. Last. Night?"

The question was asked through clenched teeth and the man was glaring down at him with anger burning in his visible eye. Brook shuddered.

It was true that Sanji was almost always angry about something—mostly trivial things such as Luffy stealing food, the idiot-trio running around in his kitchen breaking things, Zoro being Zoro…etc. But this time Brook could feel it: The cook was seriously considering killing him. In fact, he would—as he had threatened a minute before—"smash his hollow little skull" if the skeleton wouldn't start telling the truth.

Taking a small sip from his teacup, Brook resumed in his usual slow tone. "I believe I've told you everything, Sanji san. But I see no harm in narrating it again. So…we met this nice gentleman on the street, who has four beautiful daughters who can cook, and we were invited over to their teahouse where we spent a quite lovely evening. When morning came Nami san suggested we should not outstay our welcome; so after the owner of the teahouse offered me a reasonable discount for all the tea I purchased, Nami san and I left and came straight back to the ship. Gyokuro*?" the skeleton efficiently wrapped up the whole story, holding out a steaming cup towards the cook's angry face.

"…Uuuurgh!" after banging his forehead into the surface of the dinning table for multiple times, Sanji let out a frustrated scream. "That was the biggest load of useless crap I've heard in my life!"

"Tch,"

So it was breakfast time. Everyone had gathered in the galley to discuss the unusual behavior of Nami, the only absent crew member who was still in the girls' bedroom "sleeping off her craziness", as suggested by Nico Robin. Yes, up till now everybody had contributed their theories to the discussion; among which Zoro's was particularly short and straight-forward—

"Tch." the swordsman said.

It was like pouring oil on the flame—Sanji immediately spun around to glare venomously at Zoro. "I'm sorry do you have something to say, Marimo-head?"

"You're wasting our time, ero-cook." The swordsman pointed out objectively. "Brook has no reason to lie. What he said is what happened. Hearing it twice won't change anything."

"Easy for you to say. You are the one who gets all the benefits of this!" Sanji accused sourly.

"Excuse me? When did I get _any_ benefit?"

"SHE HUGGED YOU!" the cook shouted at the top of his lung.

"I DIDN'T WANT IT!" Zoro shouted back, equally loud.

"Oh is that why you were trying _so_ hard to push her away?" Sanji's tone was coated in sarcasm.

"Hey I didn't—" Zoro stopped in mid-sentence. His face flushed as he realized what the cook had just accused him of—was actually true. He didn't push her away. Yes he did ask for Robin's help, but other than that he just kinda lay there letting Nami do whatever she wanted to him—hugging him included of course.

And he was pretty sure she had taken the liberty as far as to nibble on his neck…

The galley was in silence. A red-faced swordsman was in the middle of trying to come up with something to defend himself but it looked like he was at a loss for the suitable words.

"So," Robin began grabbing everyone's attention; a subtle trace of sarcasm could be picked up in her tone. "Other than Swordsman san and Cook san's very constructive input, does anybody have anything to add?"

"Umm," Usopp raised his hand cautiously. "I think it's something in the tea."

"I agree." Franky too raised his giant cyborg forearm.

"Me too." Chopper raised one of his tiny front hooves; his usually childish features had turned fairly serious. "I'm gonna need some of the tea Brook brought back for test later."

Most of the crew nodded at his notion. Brook raised his bony hand timidly." I beg to differ, minna san. If there is something unusual in that tea, I should have been affected as well, don't you think so? But look at me—"he stood up and rounded the corner the corner of the table. Stretching the bones of his upper limb he announced proudly, "I'm still the same! Yohohoho~~~~"

"You're not helping, shitty skeleton!" Sanji chided as he threw the cooking utensil in his hand at the skeleton.

Brook's jaw dropped in shock; the cooking utensil flied into his mouth and straight through his hollow skull, eventually hit the galley wall behind him.

"That was marvelous, Sanji san. Can we do it again? "The skeleton suggested with a sincere pleading look on his face. The golden stars sparkling in his lack of eyes showed that he was genuinely impressed. " I'm thinking maybe we can practice this a little more and make it our routine, so that when we perform it for the ladies they'll be more willing to show us their panties, yohohoho~~"

A sweat drop appeared on Sanji's silky blonde bangs. "Yep, he's the same." The corner of his mouth twitched as he uttered the obvious.

"I like this new Nami."

"Eh? "The crew's eyes turned abruptly from their newest crewmate to their captain—who had just blurted out the seemingly-ridiculous words quite loudly.

"What are you talking about, Luffy?" Sanji furrowed his curly eyebrows in annoyance. Great, the kid was talking crazy again.

"I mean, she used to hit us whenever she has one of these, uh, what's the word, oh, mood swings! But now she's changed! She hugs us, "Luffy explained. A big toothy smile marked his innocent face. "Isn't that great?"

"Technically, she didn't hug _all of us_, Luffy. "Usopp reminded the captain. "She hugged ZORO."

"Yep, just Swordsman-bro." Franky nodded and gestured towards Zoro.

"Lucky bastard." Sanji cursed under his breath.

"Hey she hugged me too~" Luffy protested.

"_You_ hugged her!" Usopp, Franky and Sanji yelled in unison.

Zoro sighed as he brought a hand up to his forehead to cover the blood vessels popping there. He had begun to see a pattern here. Ten years from now these idiots would still be talking about the day Nami hugged him cause that's just the kind of idiots they were.

Dammit. This was all Nami's fault. Why the hell had she done this to him? Did she have any idea how inappropriate it was? People would start getting ideas—inappropriate ones, like he and Nami were romantically involved or something…..

"Ohayo*, Zoro~~" an overly-sweet feminine voice rang from the threshold cutting off his thought.

_Oh no. Not again. _

The swordsman flinched. He was almost too afraid to turn his eyes to the direction which without a doubt would ensure him endless embarrassment and torment. See, this was exactly what he had been afraid of: she entered the room and she only called out his name, completely ignoring the others, as if she had turned selectively blind and couldn't see there were actually SEVEN other people besides him in this galley.

Gleefully the orange-haired girl waltzed in. Her face lit up to a bright smile the moment her eyes spotted a certain green head sitting by the table. "Zo~ro~!" she called again, her soft voice dripping treacle.

Zoro did what he was best at: pulling out a blank face, he ignored her. He just couldn't deal with her and her craziness right now.

"Hey Nami~ you're up!" Luffy greeted instead, waving his hand at the navigator trying to get her attention.

Nami rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath which sounded suspiciously like "whatever", and she headed straight to where the swordsman sat without sparing a glance towards her captain. The rubber boy looked truthfully hurt for a second. He tilted his head and whispered into Usopp's ear:" Why is she like that? Did I do something to make her angry at me?"

"How should I know? Ask her yourself!" Being a horrible whisperer, again Usopp's reply was loud enough for the whole crew to hear.

"You try it." Luffy requested as he poked the front of Usopp's suspenders.

"No~! I've told you she's weird! I don't wanna be on her list too!"

"Oi! What are you _girls_ babbling about?" Nami's voice came harsh and acidly. Usopp swallowed down a yelp of fear and hid himself behind Luffy's back:" N-n-nothing!"

Sanji stared at the navigator with dazed eyes. Truth to be told he was a little bit intimidated by his sweet Nami Swan right now, not sure if he was allowed to complement her "being awesome even when she is angry" anymore. After seeing the way she treated Luffy and Usopp (and his Robin chwan earlier), the cook decided he was better off keeping his mouth shut for now, just to be safe.

Zoro didn't like what he was seeing right now. Something was seriously off. Nami was acting like twice the bitch she used to be; and the worst part was—she was nice to him.

"Zoro~~" that sickeningly-sweet voice of hers called again, "You looked great today."

Did he? Honestly the swordsman was more confused than embarrassed. He was wearing this plain white T shirt which he pretty much wore everyday; and he could easily recall on more than one occasions Nami had called him "a complete sartorial failure". Why all of a sudden he looked _great _in her eyes?

The rest of the crew stared, as if Nami had turned to a monster or Kaiourui* of some kind. Nobody dared make any sound or initiate eye contact. Instead they were secretly thankful that it was Zoro who was getting the navigator's full attention.

The swordsman shifted uneasily in his chair. The way Nami was intently gazing straight into his eyes sent a thrill down his spine. It was…creepy, like Nami was a hungry cat and he was the mouse she was about to feast on.

"Uh…thanks?" He managed to blurt out. He could feel his heart beating faster and the edges of his ears burning in heat. It must be one of those stress reactions.

And just like that Nami beamed. Like a simple "thanks" from him meant the world to her. The next moment she turned to Chopper, who was currently sitting next to the swordsman at the table.

"Scoot over, Blue Nose." She ordered; the tone of her voice far from friendly. " I wanna sit next to Zoro."

Several jaws hit the wooden surface of the dinning table. Chopper looked quite offended. "I don't like this new nickname, Nami~ you know how I feel about my nose—" his protest was rudely cut off.

"Do I look like I care? Move your ass!" the navigator took a step forward and forcefully pushed against Chopper's pink hat. The poor reindeer fell off the chair and one of his antlers hit the wooden floor heavily. The crew let out a loud gasp of surprise. The reindeer whimpered and squirmed to rise back on his feet, his round eyes withholding tears.

"Bully!" Luffy hissed.

"Big bully!" Usopp chorused in a failed attempt to whisper.

Zoro couldn't stand it any more. This woman was taking things too far and he would not sit back and watch her treat his, no, their crewmates like this. He stood up slamming his fists onto the table: "What's the matter with you?! Can't you see that you are hurting him? "He grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and pressed them against the wooden surface of the dinning table. " And for a _seat_?! ? Can you be any more insane? I don't want to sit with you to begin with!"

For a moment Nami had this utterly astonished look on her face, her eyes widened; her lips parted quivering. Zoro was hoping he had yelled some senses into her brain.

"Hey you leave her alone you big green brute—"Sanji rushed over to Nami's side, ready to kick some serious swordsman ass for being rude to ladies. But before he could launch any heroic rescue, Zoro released his grip on Nami's wrists— well he had to, because the girl suddenly burst into tears.

"Uwaaa~~~~~~~~~! "Nami cried, tears gushing from her eyes. " Zowwo…ich…thoooo….meeeaannniii…"she sobbed and choked several times before finally managing to stutter out some incoherent syllables. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she roughly used her pajama sleeves to wipe them off, along with the snot hanging from her nose. She cried like a four year old, which terrified Zoro, because he'd never seen her crying like this before (except for when she was truly a four year old but hey he didn't know her back then).

"…what?" Zoro glared at the crying navigator in disbelief. What's going on? He didn't hurt her! He hardly touched her!

"I think she was trying to say Zoro is so mean." Robin translated helpfully, stilling remaining calm.

All eyes instantly turned to the swordsman in question.

"Wait a minute—"Zoro took a step back and then another until his back was against the galley wall. He felt like he was being cornered—by his crewmates' accusing looks."…what?!"

The orange-haired girl stomped her foot on the wooden floor before rushing out of the door. Her snotty sobs could still be heard long after she was gone. The crew's eyes kept focusing on the green-haired swordsman, questioning him, judging him. The pressure was starting to grow unbearable.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the swordsman threw his arms in the air. "Seriously, people? _I'm_ the one who's mean? "

* * *

**Author's Note: It's NOT something in the tea. This much I can tell you. I just thought it'd be fun to name the chapter with a false statement. (Yes, I'm weird).**

**I think I've been handing out some serious clews and traits in this chapter. I'm sure a lot of you have figured out what happened with Nami.**

**Japanese Notes:**

***Gyokuro: A sort of fine Japanese Tea. I'm not a huge fan of tea, but if we translate Gyokuro by actual characters, it means "jaded-colored dew". It's just so pretty that I just couldn't resist using it in my fic.**

***Ohayo: Good morning**

***Kaiourui: Sea King**

**Sorry if things are still going slow. Like it or not, this fic is going to be long. It may even have around 20 chapters. Well my chapters are short, so don't get scared, stay with me:)**

**Last but not least, some R&R to cheer me up? :3**

**Minami**


	8. Chapter 7: Apology

Chapter#7：Apology

"Maybe it's just me, Zoro san…but I really think you should go apologize to Nami san." Brook suggested in his irritatingly slow tone while taking another sip from his teacup. "After all, I find it very unsettling to watch a decently pretty young lady leave the room in tears."

For a second Zoro was seriously considering dismantling the annoying skeleton. He just didn't get it: Why was he suddenly the bad guy here? Just because Nami was a girl and she could cry her eyes out in front of the whole crew without a care in the world while he could not? It's not like he had done anything wrong; she was way across the line there!

"No. Not gonna happen." Gruffly he told the skeleton off. "I will apologize after she apologizes to Chopper for what she did to him."

"As much as it pains me to admit it—"Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out an exasperated sigh. "–but Nami Swan is a little bit… out of her mind right now; she can't be held responsible for what she says or does. What's your excuse, Marimo? ARE YOU CRAZY TOO?"

The cook was yelling and spitting all over his face. Zoro scooted away an inch to avoid being sprinkled by Sanji's nicotine-flavored spit and calmly wiped his face with one hand before turning to the rest of the crew: "I think we all know who's the crazy one here."

"Don't mind, Swordsman san." Robin smiled slightly amused. "Cook san is just feeling rejected because Navigator san didn't let him into the bedroom."

That was true. After storming out the galley crying Nami had locked herself up in the girls' bedroom for almost a whole day and she had refused to come out when breakfast, lunch and supper were served. Needless to say, the resident cook was devastated. He was so devastated that he even began to question his very own existence on this ship. After all, he had joined this crew 98.72% for his beloved Nami Swan. What's the point of cooking if his angle was not here to enjoy it?

Out of desperation the cook had tried everything within his power. He had tried bringing food to her doorstep; he had practically knelt down and begged her to open the door; he had even promised to toss Zoro overboard and drown his marimo ass to death so long as it would serve to make her feel slightly better—but sadly for Sanji, all his attempts to appease the navigator were to no avail.

"That's it. I will NOT cook until she comes out of that door and starts eating!" The cook snarled slamming his fist onto the table. He sounded downright serious, except that in the next second he swiftly turned to Robin with a sappy look on his face as he promised: "Worry not, my sweet. I'll cook exclusively for you~"

"Oh man!" Luffy groaned holding his head with both hands," Look what you did, Zoro~"

"Whoa—what _I _did? "This was outrageous. Zoro glared at the captain in disbelief: Seriously? He's gonna sell him out for_ food_?

"Ano, I don't want to make this worse than it already is—"Usopp raised one hand timidly. "But how are we supposed to know if the Log Pose is set if Nami keeps hiding in her room and refuses to come out to talk to us?"

"And where's our next destination?" Franky added his own two cents into the bucket. "I mean _I _can set sail and navigate the ship for now, but where to?"

"She looked so sad when she left…maybe I overacted…maybe—maybe that nickname was supposed to be endearing…" The young reindeer hung his head low and murmured pitifully.

"Not you too, Chopper." Zoro scowled and sighed. Deep down inside he knew exactly what these bastards were trying to do to him, but the sad thing was he would have no choice but to eventually cave. He knew it and they knew it too.

Letting out another defeated sigh, he glanced over to where Robin sat peacefully with her nose buried in a hard-covered book. "And you can't use your Devil Fruit Ability to unlock the door from inside?"

"I'm afraid you are on your own, Swordsman san." The archeologist replied in a casual tone without looking up from her book. "Last time I tried to help you out, she called me some name I'd rather not repeat. Things like that certainly leave a scar, don't they?"

Translation: She just enjoyed watching him suffer. Zoro growled and rose to his feet. "I'll cut down that damn door if I have to—" he murmured sourly as he marched towards the exit rather irritated, his hand tightening around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji.

"No breaking the ship, Swordsman-bro~ ya hear me?" Franky yelled behind him. But Zoro was too angry to care. _Crazy or not, somebody needs to be set straight!_

0~0~0~0~0

Okay, he would just ask nicely. If she was smart enough she would not want to mess with him when he was this angry and wanted to cut something this badly…or so he would think.

"Oi! Open the door stupid witch!" The swordsman snarled, pounding his fists violently into the wooden surface. Five minutes had passed without the navigator giving him any kind of response and he had way passed the "asking nicely" phase. Forget about no breaking the ship, he's breaking the ship!

One side kick and that was it. Zoro was no freaking Love Cook, but he found it quite efficient to stamp the door open with the sole of his boot once in a while—especially when his inside was boiling with anger and he couldn't wait another second to peel off that stupid quilt cocoon which was currently wrapping around Nami's cringing form on one of the girls' beds.

"Seriously, Nami, I swear to God if you don't get rid of that damn thing and come with me to the kitchen right now—"He threatened as he made a dash for the navigator-shaped lump on the bed and snatched the quilt off from her head with a swift motion.

"No~~~~~~!" The orange-haired girl shrieked, immediately burying her face into her arms once her cover was ripped. "Don't look! My eyes are puffy!"

Geez, she'd been crying all this time? How crazy was she? Feeling a headache coming, the swordsman rubbed his temples roughly before speaking up in his most tolerant voice:" Come on, let's get you out of here before you dehydrate."

He held out a hand towards her. The girl slowly lifted her head up to meet his gaze. Her taupe-colored eyes were puffy and bloodshot. She looked like a lost puppy.

"Do I look ugly?" She asked in a timid voice.

Zoro closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. This was one of the rare moments that he actually wished that stupid Love Cook could be by his side. That idiot would handle this situation so much better than he ever could.

"No. You look… fine, okay?" He told her as he reopened his eyes.

"I just…" She paused, sniffing her nose before continuing, "I just don't want you to hate me, Zoro."

The swordsman sucked in another deep breath and told himself a little more patience was all he needed to coax her out of this damn room.

"I don't hate you, Nami. We're nakama." He said, trying his best to soften his voice. "But you gotta stop acting like a total bitch, ya know? They are your nakama too. The way you treated them back there—"he gestured a thumb towards the door, "is not right."

For a long moment Nami just kept staring at him with dazed eyes, as if slowly digesting his words. Under her gaze Zoro was starting to feel uncomfortable. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't quite define. The Nami he knew would never look at him this way, like what he had just said meant the whole world to her, like her life was depending on how he felt about her.

"I …I can apologize to them…I guess," After a while she murmured quietly. Her cheeks were tinted with a light shade of pink. "If you want me to."

"Good." He nodded briefly. "That a girl."

The corner of her mouth tilted up slightly at his words. Despite her eyes being red and teary she was smiling up at him. And he had to admit that was a fairly beautiful smile. Zoro felt his heart skip a beat as the girl placed her slender hand on his upward palm. This was the first time he'd ever noticed that the size of her hand fitted in perfectly in his larger palm. A part of him was even questioning how easy this had turned out, until the most inconceivable thing befell him—

Nami suddenly lifted her upper body from the bed and pressed her lips against his.

Zoro's eyes widened in shock as his posture went rigid.

Okay this was way beyond craziness. Moments ago he just told her they were nakama and now she was kissing him.

Clearly this was wrong.

Absolutely and indisputably wrong.

He should turn her down. He should just push her off his body and tell her to get a hold of herself. The ero-cook was right: she was completely out of her mind and couldn't be held responsible for what she was doing to him. While he was the sane one between the two of them and he should be doing the right thing here—which was, to stop.

Just stop.

Don't indulge yourself and stop right away dammit! How hard could it be?

Despite the little voice screaming in his head Zoro found himself lean into Nami's mikan-flavored lips. Maybe craziness was contagious, he even found himself begin to return the kiss and before long he allowed his lips to part when Nami's tongue darted out from her mouth to lick at his lips begging for entrance.

Zoro's eyelids drooped close as his hand found its place on her lower back. Surprisingly in the midst of kissing he felt angry. He had often felt a smidge of anger boiling inside him whenever she was around. Nami had always been a troublesome woman; dealing with her meant living in constant trouble and torment. She could be so annoying sometimes that he even wished that she were a guy so that he could actually beat her up.

But the soft and curvy form he was touching was nothing but feminine. And the faint whimpers she produced as his hand rubbed circles on her back were a severe test to his self-control. She was sexy and sensual and was like a swampy trap he was about to step into. He was lost and frustrated and yet he couldn't bring himself to stop.

Until he felt a sharp pain piercing through his left rib, sending him stumbling several steps backwards before finally managing to steady himself—

His eyes grew wide in shock and confusion as he took in the scene in front of him: the orange haired girl was kneeling on the bed staring blankly into his face. There was a faraway look in her beautiful hazel orbs. A silvery dagger was held loosely in her slightly shaking hand, blood dripping from the tip.

He slowly lowered his head to see the crimson stain on his haramaki quickly enlarging into the size of a palm. Another spasm of pain contorted his face as he clutched a hand onto his freshly-stabbed wound and slowly looked up to see her pretty face once more.

"…you are not her."

* * *

**Author's Note: So...how many of you are ****astounded? Well I hope not a lot. Cause I have more surprises for ya in future chapters. :P**

******Honestly ever since I started writing this fic I've been dreaming of writing this scene. And what I'm gonna say next might probably annoy you cause I've said it A LOT: I really wish my English was better so that I could've writen this scene with more accurate descriptions. But for now, you'll have to deal with what I've got for ya:P**

******I'm thinking about writing a fic for Zoro's B-day so my next update might be a little late. But at least this one is very timely. ********So don't you think I deserve some nice R&R? :3**

******See you next time.**

******Minami**


	9. Chapter 8: The Blackout

Chapter 8: The Blackout

"…you are not her."

The scent of blood hung heavily in the air. Nami's eyelashes batted once, twice...her movement subtle and mechanic, almost to the point of going unnoticed.

Slowly those hazy, brown orbs of hers seemed to regain some clarity. The dazed look on her face faded away. "Zo—Zoro?" her lips quivered as her weak voice squeezed its way out of her throat, "Wha…what are you…where am I?" she stuttered and her eyes widened in shock the moment they fell on her trembling, dagger-holding hand.

"Oh my God I'm holding a knife!" she shrieked as she dropped the dagger on the floor in panic.

Zoro glared at her: _Great._ This woman had just stuck a dagger into his gut and now she looked so lost and confused, like a scared Bambi or some shit. He might even laugh about how absurd the situation was if he weren't in so much pain.

"Did I…?" tears blurred her once cleared vision as Nami fully took in what was happening before her eyes: the hardened look on her green-haired nakama's face, the mean-looking wound marked his blood-stained haramaki, and the sticky red liquid dripping through his tightly-clutched fingers. She gasped and fell on her knees. "…did I do this to you?" her voice trembled so much that it was barely tangible.

"You think?" Zoro sneered, raising a sarcastic eyebrow, his stance unwavering on where he stood. He could handle a stab or two. He had been injured way worse than this before. If she were truly Nami she should've known that: some trivial back-stabbing, no, gut-stabbing like this was far from enough to take him down.

"I'm so sorry, Zoro… I didn't know…that bitch stole my body and made me stuck in hers…" She murmured weakly, tears of remorse in her eyes. She blinked to let them fall.

"And now you're back." He said, offering to complete her explanation.

Nami nodded eagerly, reaching out a hand as if wanting to touch him but flinching away once his glare hardened at her.

"And I'm supposed to believe you." He continued, his tone neutral, betraying no feelings.

"Zoro we gotta do something about that wound." She said in a pleading voice, and then hopped off the bed and jogged to him.

However, her attempt to get closer was abruptly halted when she felt the coldness of his sword tip pressing at the base of her throat.

" …Eh? Zoro?" She took a step back, hurt confusion flashing across her widened eyes. He was pointing his trusted sword Wado Ichimonji at her and she didn't understand why.

"Well played, bitch. You almost had me." The swordsman commented in a nonchalant voice before giving her a laudatory smile, one that didn't really get to his eyes. "You better start telling the truth or I'll cut your throat: what did you do to my friend?"

" WHAT?" Her eyebrows almost jumped to her hairline as she flared up. " _I am_ your friend, idiot! And I _was_ telling the truth! Do you really think I would do something like that to you? "She winced at his blood stained mid-section before quickly turning her eyes away. " God, do something Zoro! My eyes hurt just looking at it!"

He squinted at her: She was either a kick-ass actress… or was it possible that she was telling the truth?

So some "bitch" stole her body and she was stuck until just now? Did any of this make any sense?

She was looking back at him. She looked slightly scared because yeah, a blade was held closely to her throat. But other than that her eyes were filled with remorse and worry—she was worried about his injury.

Those tears she had shed—was not faking.

Against his better judgment Zoro found himself wanting to believe her just once.

"How much money do I owe you?" after a short moment of hesitation he asked testingly.

The orange haired girl let out a frustrated grunt and rolled her eyes. " Urgh, I never knew you have such trust issues. 5 hundred-thousand belis. "

"What? "He almost dropped his sword at this outrageous number. "Last time you yelled at me you said I only owe you—"

"You dropped my bags."She said simply.

"You stabbed me!" Now he felt compelled to yell at her a little bit because damn, all the blood loss had started to get into him, making his head spinning in dizziness—and she was talking about _bags_.

"It wasn't me! And that stab won't starting healing itself so will ya stop pointing this thing at me and let me help you?!" she yelled back, her fingertip poking at the edge of his beloved Wado.

Zoro stared at her for another moment before letting out a conceding sigh and retreating Wado into its sheath. He was going to trust her. Hopefully he wouldn't have to regret this.

He didn't.

As soon as the blade left her throat Nami rushed over to his side, slinging an arm around his waist to let him lean on her.

"You need to lie down. "She said decisively, "Come on, take my bed—no, wait, take Robin's bed, I don't want your blood on my sheets—"

"Seriously, woman? I'm bleeding here!" He gave her a cross look, but to be honest he felt somewhat relieved: This was Nami all right. This was the girl he knew and missed for the past day. Only she could be so self-centered that she was concerned about _sheets_ at a time like this.

"Oh, right! Your problem is bigger, sorry~ "she stuck her tongue out at him, giving him an apologetic smile before hauling his weight to her bed.

With her help he lay carefully down on his uninjured side, biting back any yelp of pain his movement caused in the process. She pulled the sheets up to his chin and thrust her pillow under his head. Then she knelt down by the bedside.

"Zoro…" one of her hands reached out to touch his forehead, wiping away the sweat drops there, "I'm so so sorry…" she said softly.

Zoro was sure he was most likely delusional with the pain when he felt her other hand squeeze his across the sheets. She was kneeling at his bedside, looking at him teary-eyed, and she was holding his hand. It felt so unreal …the nice kind of unreal. True, the stab on his stomach hurt like a bitch, but he guessed her soft fingertips lingering on his skin had made it slightly more endurable for him.

"Don't be if you didn't do this." He told her as he gently squeezed back.

"Let me go get Chopper—"

"Naw. It can wait a bit." He shook his head. He knew his young reindeer friend would scream like a little girl when he saw this and he really didn't need that right now. He'd had enough noises ringing inside his ears because of the blood loss.

And if he was to admit it, he'd rather hold her hand and keep her here with him a little longer. She was no pain-killer, but he didn't want to let her go just yet.

After taking a deep breath to subdue the pain, he asked her: "What happened? " She had mentioned there was some bitch out there who was capable of switching people's bodies apparently, no matter what the hell that meant.

"I—"she began but was instantly cut off by Franky's loud voice from the threshold.

"Oi! Swordsman-bro, Nami-sis, you alright there? I thought I heard a thud or something. So, Nico Robin sent me to make sure you guys didn't break anything in her side of the room—"the large cyborg exclaimed a little too gleefully as he walked into the girls' bedroom.

"Owww! Who died in here? "He joked as he saw the tears on Nami's cheeks. But when his eyes fell on the blood and the dagger on the floor he gaped.

" Holy shit…" he muttered, staring at the pair in disbelief. " Nami, did you…?!"

Zoro wanted to tell the cyborg to shut up, that he was being too loud and it wasn't what it looked like. But the ringing in his ears had become too overwhelming that he felt like his head was about to explode. Before he could utter any word his body gave in to exhaustion and he fell into the dark state of unconsciousness.

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**Author's Note: Ano... sorry for the late update? *insert my guilty face here***

**I'm actually kinda proud of myself right now because a day ago I've only written aout 200 words. Now I have around 1,500 and decided to call it a chapter.:)**

**Dearest Oceanwind chan: I wanted to seek you out for beta-reading but then I found out I accidentally deleted our last PM conversation so I couldn't find your email anywhere. Please don't hate me, this chapter would have been so much better if you were here...T_T **

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chap! If you did, drop me a nice review or a cyber hug. :3**

**With love,**

**Minami**


	10. Chapter 9: The Revelation

Chapter #9: The Revelation

Zoro woke up to the sound of his own stomach growling.

Apparently he had slept for long enough for the pain throbbing at his side to subside and the feeling of hunger to overshadow. As he tried to lift his hand to feel about, he realized it was still being held by someone.

His features softened the moment he recognized the orange head nuzzling up against his pillow case—technically, it was _her_ pillow case. It was in this fade soft color that was either orange or apricot he really couldn't tell, and it smelled of her hair—the scent of tangerine. She was kneeling at his (her) bedside, just like the last time he'd seen her. One of her hands held his in a soft grip and the other placed limply on the sheets.

She was asleep. And he could tell she had fallen asleep in a rather uncomfortable position by the frown deeply knitted between her brows. He couldn't help but notice how lovely she looked now that her face was being this close to his. He wondered when was the last time he had drank anything cause suddenly he felt thirsty. He felt his lips go dry and his tongue darted out to moist them instinctively. Before he realized what was happening, his hand lifted from the sheets and the next thing he knew, it was touching Nami's cheek.

A small chuckle stopped him dead in his tracks. He looked up in horror to see Robin leaning on the comforter of her own bed, smiling at him with a knowing glint in her beautiful blue eyes, an open book placed on her knees.

Zoro could feel all his blood rush into his head and make his cheeks burn.

"It's not what you think." He sputtered.

"I wasn't insinuating anything." Robin's slightly teasing smile quickly turned into a polite one.

She was. He knew she was. But he also knew that he didn't have a plausible explanation as to why he had been touching a girl's face while she was asleep. It was too intimate an act between nakamas, and nakamas were what he and Nami were—or what they had been before that damn kiss happened.

Letting out a small cough he tried to change the subject:"uh…how long did I sleep?"

"You missed breakfast." Robin informed him. "I hope you are not hungry because Captain-san has emptied our refrigerator and Cook-san has yet to return from a supply run. Oh, and Tony-kun said you are not supposed to move yet. "She added when Zoro tried to sit up and found out his stab wound had been wrapped and tended properly.

"Chopper worries too much." the injured swordsman said to Robin before sitting up on the bed nonetheless. "I'll live." He then nudged Nami's shoulder. "Oi, wake up, woman."

The orange-haired girl slowly lifted her head from the bedside with a stifled yawn. She blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and then smiled up at the man who was currently occupying her bed: "Hey…you woke up."

"...before you did." he mumbled in return.

"Urgh, you are so ungrateful. I looked after you all~ night~!How about a 'thank-you', Zoro? "Nami scowled at him before throwing off his hand. She then stood and smoothed the ruffles on her skirt with both hands. "Robin, would you mind keeping an eye on Zoro for me for a second? I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Oi! You can't just leave me here with—"_with dark woman cause that would be downright awkward. _The rest of the sentence died on Zoro's lips as he collapsed in frustration back into Nami's bed. The girl was already out of the door.

"What?" he glared when Robin chose this moment to let out her trademark soft giggling.

"Nothing. I just think you two are cute." The older woman explained with a smile.

"Well, for your information, she is the reason I'm lying here." Zoro tched and rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling.

"I've heard so." Robin winked at him, "after all, I've heard people pay _more _for a kiss than this. Something is just to kill for, isn't it, Swordsman-san?"

Zoro's posture stiffened. What the…Robin knew?! He snapped his head towards her so quickly that his neck hurt. "Wh—when did you…?"

"I have eyes." The older woman's usually serene smile now seemed a little mischievous. "Everywhere."

The young swordsman shuddered. He admitted that Robin was a nice lady for most of the time, but man, did she just say the creepiest things.

"You know, Nami actually cares about you very much, Swordsman-san." Robin intoned as Zoro closed his eyes pretending to fall asleep again. "That wasn't even the first time she tended your injury— she did the same thing to you back in Thriller Bark when you were unconscious. She just…made herself scarce the moment you woke up, like she did today. "

It was a good thing that he was supposed to be drowsing off and not able to hear a word of What Robin was saying right now. Because otherwise Zoro wouldn't know how to react to a speech like this.

The revelation squeezed his heart in a way that he was not familiar with. Zoro had never pegged Nami for someone who would stay by his bedside over the night and take care of him in his injured state. She was more like the kind that would yell at you and order you to stay alive for her or she would triple your debt to make you poor and broke even in your afterlife. Zoro always knew that Nami had a soft and feminine side to her; but he never thought he would be the one to get her to show that side until…just then.

Maybe she did care. She just didn't want him to know she did. If that was how stubborn she was then he thought he could live with that. After all, he tended to do the same thing.

For some reason the conclusion made Zoro's cheeks feel warm as the blood was rushing back into his head all over again. As much as he wished to hear Robin mother him some more (or not), he decided that he could use a short nap before Nami came back. That girl still owed him a load of explanations as to why she had kissed and then stabbed him and claimed that she had done neither. And he wanted to be there when she explained to the rest of the crew why she had been acting crazy these past few days.

Just like that he allowed himself to doze off again until his growling stomach reminded him that he was hungry enough to eat a cow. He opened his eyes and found out he was now the only occupant in the girls' bedroom. A couple of hours must have passed.

Getting dressed he headed for the galley where the rest of Straw-hats gathered. Judging by Luffy's sizable rubber belly and the stack of empty dishes piling up on the dinning table, he'd say lunch was about to come to an end without him. But that wasn't what upset him the most—

"What the hell is that?"

He requested in a low voice as his intense stare fell upon the orange-haired girl who was sitting in her usual spot at the table— more specifically, on her crossed wrists that were placed on the edge of wooden surface.

Nami always loved jewelry but he didn't think that thing could count as one of those—Zoro squinted his eyes at the slivery spark on the navigator's wrists: while he was sleeping next door, they had her cuffed.

* * *

**Author's Note: So...it's been like...forever ? (Don't hit me...)*running off to hide***

**I almost forgot that I have an unfinished project here(more like two, but let's just focus on one at a time :P). Lots of things are happening in my life right now. Well, some of them are good actually, like...very good. :) **

**Anyway, I'm terribly sorry for the long overdued update. ****But don't worry people, I still love ZoNa and I'm not ready to abandon this ship unless Oda tells me himself that I should. **

**Now that I'm back, I'll try to see if I can update this thing more frequently (let's just say "monthly", to be safe ;P). Again, sorry if I kept you guys waiting. You can yell at me all you want in your reviews. :3**

**Love & regards,**

**Minami**


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